Doc Rivers tells Kobe Bryant story from 2008 NBA Finals: 'He put that fear in you, man'
Doc Rivers tells Kobe Bryant story from 2008 NBA Finals: 'He put that fear in you, man'
Kobe Bryant, the late Los Angeles Lakers great, was one of the greatest basketball players and overall athletes of all time. He led the Lakers to five NBA championships, and he was not only one of the greatest crunch-time performers ever but, in the minds of some, he was possibly the greatest closer ever.
Even when the Lakers were down by double digits in the fourth quarter of a game, fans often thought there was still a chance the team could pull out a victory because of Bryant's exploits under pressure and his lack of fear.
Like anyone else, he had his share of lowlights, and one of the worst moments of his career came when L.A. was embarrassed in the 2008 NBA Finals by the archrival Boston Celtics. It lost Game 6, 131-92, in Boston as the Celtics claimed their 17th championship, and although the Celtics were ahead by a wide margin down the stretch, head coach Doc Rivers could still feel the fear that Bryant always put in the minds and hearts of opponents.
Celtics defensive coordinator Tom Thibodeau wanted Rivers to take his starters out midway through the fourth quarter, but Rivers refused because he feared that Bryant could get L.A. back in the game.
Via Fox Sports:
'Game 6 was terrific,' Rivers said. 'That's a moment that I remember in 2008. The funniest moment, Kobe knows this, but we were up 1,000 [points] in Game 6 and the guy who you would least expect walks over to me during the game -- Tom Thibodeau -- and he asks me, 'Are you going to sub out? There's six minutes and we're up 42 points.'
'Of all the guys to say that, it's Tom Thibodeau. And I looked over there at the Lakers and Kobe was still on the floor, and I actually said, 'When Phil [Jackson] takes that guy out, I take my guys out.' And Thibs said, 'You're safe.' And I said, 'Not with that guy on the floor.'
'I was dead serious. I had obviously lost my mind because it was a 42-point lead. But he put that fear in you, man. He could run off threes. I was obviously not good at math, so I was worried about him. Then finally Phil took him out so I could sub. It was good.'
The type of deficit the Lakers faced in the fourth quarter of that game was one even Bryant couldn't overcome. The embarrassment they suffered bonded the team together, and coming into next season, it was clearly on a mission.
It won the 2009 NBA title, but it defeated the Orlando Magic and not the Celtics. The Lakers finally got another shot at the men in green in the 2010 finals, and this time, they won it all, as they overcame a 13-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 7.
Bryant shot 6-of-24 from the field in that seventh game, but he played very well for most of the second half and especially in the fourth quarter, as he found ways to be efficient offensively while also contributing in other areas. For those who paid attention to his excellent play down the stretch of the game, it reinforced his image as arguably basketball's ultimate closer.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Are the Boston Celtics interested in signing EuroLeague forward Nigel Hayes-Davis?
Are the Boston Celtics interested in signing EuroLeague forward Nigel Hayes-Davis? Are the Boston Celtics interested in signing EuroLeague forward Nigel Hayes-Davis? Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was recently spotted in Turkiye at a Fenerbahce game, with reporting on his visit relating he was at the Basketball Super League and EuroLeague team tilt to scout Hayes-Davis. Why would the Boston coach make the transatlantic trip to see a player so far from home? Do the Celtics have interest in signing the 3-and-D forward back to the NBA? And if they did, what would it likely take in terms of a contract buyout and salary to convince him to sign with Boston? There will be time at the power forward spot for much or all of next season with star forward Jayson Tatum out as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. The folks behind the "Cyro Asseo" YouTube channel put together a clip taking a deep dive into the news that broke earlier this week on what Mazzulla has been doing in his unexpectedly long offseason. Check it out below!
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers' Response After Dallas Wings' Sixth Straight Loss
Paige Bueckers' Response After Dallas Wings' Sixth Straight Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After missing four games while in concussion protocol followed by an illness, Paige Bueckers returned to action for the Dallas Wings on Wednesday. Advertisement She had her best game yet as a pro by exploding for 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and hitting five of her seven 3-point attempts while adding six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. But the rookie couldn't prevent the Wings from losing to the Phoenix Mercury, 93-80. They now have a putrid 1-10 record, which is the worst mark in the WNBA. Bueckers was used to winning in college at UConn, and she talked about how she is dealing with losses in bunches as a pro. "It's challenging but very rewarding in a sense of you being super process-oriented and not result-oriented," she said. "How we want to have a set of standards, build a culture and have a way we do things and stick to that regardless of wins or losses... Then the results will follow and will come as we continue to stay disciplined in who we are every single day. "Just trying to lead by example, lead with my voice and just have difficult conversations. Get to know these people on and off the court and continue to build that chemistry... Just like anything in life, it's a journey." When Bueckers was at UConn, the school always reached at least the Sweet Sixteen round of the women's NCAA Tournament. In fact, during that time, the only instance in which the Huskies didn't get to the Final Four was when she missed all of the 2022-23 season with an injury. Advertisement Just a couple of months ago, they won it all by blasting South Carolina in the title game. For her college career, she averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game while shooting 53.1% from the field and 42.3% from downtown. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna SmithBruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images But she is now playing for a Wings franchise that has struggled in recent years. It has won just one playoff series since 2009, when it was known as the Shock and moved from Detroit to Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the meantime, look for Bueckers to continue to show patience as she develops her game and looks to become the WNBA's next superstar. Related: Caitlin Clark's Appearance at NBA Finals Draws Indiana Fever Reaction This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Thunder's Game 3 turnover failings have put playoff run in danger again
INDIANAPOLIS — The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder had any level of control in Game 3 of an NBA Finals suddenly trending against them, they were up 95-91 with 8:45 left and had just forced a missed layup that probably should've ended in a defensive rebound. But Chet Holmgren couldn't grab it in a crowd, Lu Dort accidentally helped tap it over to Andrew Nembhard and Nembhard immediately hit a 16-footer. Advertisement But that wasn't the most deflating part of the sequence. Alex Caruso grabbed the ball as it went through the net. He took one wandering step out of bounds and flung a rushed inbound in Jalen Williams' direction. It made it about four feet before TJ McConnell, standing directly in front of Caruso, leaped up to steal it and then dropped in a layup. A defensive rebound would have meant a four-point lead and possession. But within five seconds, Wednesday's game was instead tied, beginning a fourth quarter snowball that would end in a 116-107 Pacers win and a 2-1 series hole for the Thunder. Had that McConnell leaping steal been an outlier, it wouldn't have been such a postgame talking point. That egregious of an inbound error happens occasionally — maybe a handful of times per season to any given team. But the Thunder were victimized three separate times in Game 3 by the same player on the same type of sneaky steal most often seen in youth basketball. 'Sucked,' Williams said. 'Bad, unforced turnovers.' This game flipped to open the second quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took his first rest of the night with the Thunder leading 32-24 after 12 minutes. He'd return three minutes later with the Thunder down 37-36. McConnell was the spark plug of that minus-nine stretch. It included two of his three inbound steals. The first came to open the quarter. McConnell set up Pascal Siakam for a layup, baited Cason Wallace into an interception and then pinged an offensive rebound over to Bennedict Mathurin for a layup — again creating four points in a flash. 'I call them pick-sixes,' Caruso said. 'It's a live-ball turnover in your third of the court and they score. It can add up to eight, 10, 12 points, which might be the difference in the game.' The second of McConnell's inbound steals came a couple of minutes later while Gilgeous-Alexander was still on his brief but detrimental rest. He found Aaron Nesmith for a layup and again jumped the passing lane and ripped an unaware Williams before he could gain control of Wallace's pass, throwing it off Wallace out of bounds to generate an extra possession that charged up the arena. Advertisement 'Those plays hurt,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'Because they're very controllable. You can take your time. You make mistakes in basketball, no matter the stage. We definitely had opportunities to cover those things up. But you also don't let plays like that happen. It just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night. Things like that really hurt.' The Thunder only averaged 11.7 turnovers this season, the fewest of all 30 NBA teams. They're only averaging 12.0 in the playoffs, third-fewest among the 16 qualifying teams. They terrorize your offense, but also succeed because of their ball security, beginning with Gilgeous-Alexander, who only averaged 2.4 turnovers this season, fewest among the NBA's top-14 scorers. But that was a major problem in Game 3. Their offense was careless and scattered. Those three McConnell inbound steals counted for three of the Thunder's 19 turnovers. In their previous 18 playoff games, they never committed more than 16. Gilgeous-Alexander had six of those 19 turnovers, more than he'd committed in a game since December. That included the detrimental 'pick-six' type, as Caruso mentioned, a live-ball giveaway that gifts the other team two points and revs up the crowd. Here is the worst of the night from Gilgeous-Alexander. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was asked postgame whether those live-ball turnovers, particularly the McConnell inbound steals, were inexcusable. 'In terms of inexcusable, everybody is out there competing and trying,' Daigneault said. 'I'm not going to place blame on those plays. I just thought their overall tone was better than ours for the majority of the game. I thought we had some really good stretches, but we just made one too many mistakes and had one too many possessions on both ends of the floor where they were more tied to their identity than we were. Obviously, those (turnovers) are costly plays.' Advertisement The Thunder gave up 40 second-quarter points and didn't force a turnover in the 12 minutes. Their bench was outscored 49-18. After a strong third quarter, they were outscored 32-18 in a fateful fourth when their offense came to a halt and their defense had too many lapses, including from Gilgeous-Alexander late, sagging too far off Nesmith and closing out too slow, leading to a dagger 3. This all combined to deliver the Thunder their second danger point in these playoffs. Like the Nuggets series — which began with a home collapse in Game 1 and a tight Game 3 loss in Denver — they are down 2-1, staring down the barrel of a crucial Game 4 road test Friday night against a confident team and a frothing crowd. 'You're probably just slightly more frustrated with (this 2-1 deficit),' Caruso said. 'You just put in so much effort and so much into the game to not come away with a win when you have a chance, especially on the road, it definitely stings a little. That's part of the playoffs. That's part of the finals.' (Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
